Off the Radar
by YellowRocksMySocks
Summary: It was just another mission. Nothing out of the ordinary. But when Pepper shows up at the door one morning, Beth's life is changed forever.
1. Excited Doorbell

"Yes. Okay. I'll keep Butterfingers company..." I assure Tony as I'm on a group call with my super family.

"If you need help on your Pre-Cal just give me a call." Bruce offers.

"Thanks, but I don't think the Hulk would be a very good tutor." I joke.

"There are some leftovers in the fridge or you can always order a pizza!" Natasha chimes in.

"Sweet." I reply, this time with my voice tinged with anxiety.

"Beth? What has you troubled?" Thor asks.

"I just worry about you guys..." I confess. "Just because you are the 'World's Greatest Superheroes' doesn't mean you can't get hurt." I say with a sigh. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

"Don't eat all the bacon without us, okay?" Steve says with a grin, reciting my family's customary goodbye when the go on missions.

"I'll make sure and save y'all some. Kill some mutants for me will ya?" I ask with a smile.

"You got it!" Clint says, and we hang up.

****************************************************

I was doing homework, which basically meant vegging-out in front of the TV with a bowl of ice cream and my math workbook beside me. Not my fault both my tutors were on a mission saving the world. Besides, tomorrow's Saturday. My show ended. I glanced at the clock. _Yikes, already two in the morning...better hit the hay. _I set my bowl in the sink.

"Goodnight Jarvis!" I say to the ceiling.

"Goodnight, Miss Beth. Sleep well." he replies.

I throw on an old t-shirt and leggings and crawl into bed, praying that my family would come home safe and sound.

****************************************************

_DING-DONG!...DING-DONG!...DING-DONG-DING-DONG-DING-DONG!_

"Alright! Alright! I'm coming!" I shout as I flop out of bed. "Jeez...someone's excited..." I say to no one in particular as the jarring ring of the doorbell forces me out of bed. I look at the tiny video screen on the wall in the entryway. It's Pepper. _Why is she so upset? _I unlock the door.

"Pepper, what's wrong?" I ask. She's crying, holding a wadded up tissue in her hands.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. lost communication at eight o'clock this morning...They're...They're gone!" she splurts out between sobs as she grabs me in a crushing hug.

My world falls apart around me. _They can't be gone..._

I sob. Choking, painful sobs as Pepper and I hold each other and cry in the doorway where my one true family used to walk through.


	2. Thanks For the Ride

**Last chapter I forgot to give idea credits to DollyDaydream8...so this idea was hers. Please give me more ideas like she did because I literally have nothing left...sigh. The review box is right down there! As always, thanks for reading!**

I smoothed down the skirt of my black dress as I was studying myself in the mirror. _Who cares how I look anyway? They're all dead... _I think as I stop fussing with my clothes. Today was their memorial service, televised to the whole town. A statue had been erected in their honor as well. Director Fury had asked me to make a speech, and for some reason, I accepted.

"We're ready to go..." Pepper informs me as she pops her head in my room. "You look nice." she compliments, but with the same half-hearted sigh she and I had been speaking in for the past week. Speaking of weeks, this had been the worst of my life. No exaggeration, either. If I wasn't making myself sick by crying, I was watching recorded security feeds of the gang that I had Jarvis pull up for me. Even he was sad, the chipper in his voice seemingly gone forever. That almost broke my heart even more.

"Thanks." I mumble. We walk to the car waiting outside, the only sound being the sharp clicks of our heels staccato on the ground.

BREAK

Rain falls on the ground as I walk in the midst of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s funeral procession. How stereotypical. As if on cue, everyone pulls out black umbrellas. We continue, and finally stop at the city hall steps. A makeshift stage and podium have been set up so all the citizens could hear the various remarks. There was a huge crowd standing in front, a giant mass of sad civilians gathered to honor people they barely knew. I had forgotten that the Avengers had saved them too. I stood behind the podium and adjusted the microphone. I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes. _This is for you guys, _I thought, and looked up to the dreary sky.

I clear my throat and shuffle my notecards one last time. "Hello everyone. For those of you who don't know, my name is Beth. I was sent by the government to live with the Avengers as a psychiatric test. After the test was concluded, I had the privilege to live with them permanently. We became like family." I feel the corners of my mouth lift into the tiniest smile.

"I was the little sister of the group. While it wasn't always easy living with a bunch of superheroes, it is an experience I will always treasure. You knew the Avengers as a team of superheroes who protected the world. Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, and the Black Widow. I knew them as Tony, Bruce, Steve, Thor, Clint, and Natasha." I say as my throat tightens slightly, so I swallow hard and continue.

"Thor's favorite food is Pop tarts." I say, and hear a chuckle from the crowd. "Bruce is amazing at Physics and Pre-Cal. Steve is the best artist I have ever seen, and Natasha has the perfect tea recipe for when you are sick. Clint will always win at trivia or hide-and-seek, and one of Tony's favorite movies was The Lion King."

"These six remarkable people were not only heroes, but friends. They could come home from saving the world and still help me with my homework or watch a movie. Or just talk. The Avengers were a blessing to us all. The world lost a valuable group. We needed them more than they knew. I needed them more than I knew." I say, and my voice cracks and a tear fall on my last note card. I clear my throat again.

"Unfortunately, their latest mission was their last. Let us make it our mission to honor and never forget the people who protected us to the very end. We owe them that much. The Avengers will always be in the world's hearts. And mine." I finish, and step away from the podium.

BREAK

I'm last in line to lay a rose down at the base of the statue. It's huge, and made out of marble. All of the Avengers are standing in a circle, backs to each other, ready for battle. The plaque reads: "The Avengers: The Greatest Heroes the World Has Ever Known". I finally am in front of it. I kneel down and place my rose on the pile with all the others, along with my notecards.

"You guys truly were the greatest." I whisper. "Thanks for the ride."

Tears steadily fall down my cheeks, matching the drops of rain falling to the earth from overhead. I don't move until Pepper shields me with an umbrella and walks me to the car.

I don't speak for the rest of the day.


	3. Expired Bacon

It had been a month since they had passed. Even so, I still expected them to be home. Yesterday, I had walked downstairs to get some help on Physics to find that the lab was dark and still. I sat on the bottom step for an hour, waiting for tears to fall. When that didn't happen, I became angry at myself and felt guilty enough to eat an entire pint of chocolate chip cookie dough. Right now, I was sitting at the kitchen table finishing off yet another pint of ice cream. Fudge brownie this time. Pepper walked into the room and straight to the fridge.

"Do you find if I grab a little something? I had to work through my lunch break today." she asks.

I scrape my spoon around the bottom of the container and don't even bother to look up. "Go for it." I reply in the monotone that had been my voice ever since I got the news.

"This leftover pizza looks good." she decides. Silence. "Beth? Why is there an entire container of moldy bacon in the fridge?" she asks, and this time I turn around.

I set the empty carton and spoon on the table and watch it tip over, a little dribble landing on the wood. I was afraid to answer. Afraid that if I explained, I would cry. Afraid that I would cry and wouldn't be able to stop.

"Beth?" Pepper asked again, a little more firm that the first time. I ignore it. "Beth?" she asked, louder this time.

The answer begins to spill like a waterfall, gushing out of me before I could control it. "Because I couldn't bring myself to eat it!" I yell, my voice breaking. "Because I promised I wouldn't finish it without them!" I began sobbing, grabbing onto the edge of the table for support.

"Beth, it's expired. I have to throw it away." Pepper says and starts walking to the trashcan.

"NO!" I scream. I run over and grab the package out of her hands, my emotions taking full control over my body. I hug the bacon to me. "You can't! Because they're gonna walk through that door and wonder why I ate it all! I PROMISED!" I half-yell, half sob, the anguish straight from my soul. I fall to my knees, curled over the package as if it was the reason to keep on living.

Pepper kneels down next to me. "Not a day goes by where I don't miss them." She replies, and I hear her voice catch. But you can't keep an expired package of bacon forever. They wouldn't want you to give bacon up for good, I don't believe. Do you think we could throw this particular package away?" she asks in a soothing voice.

I give up and slide it out from under me. "I'm so, so sorry." I whisper as I hear the package drop into the bag and the clang of the lid as it closed. She sighs and walks away. I get up from the ground and head to my bedroom, crawling under the covers with the plan of sleeping forever.

I was popping into each of their rooms, looking for something cushy to sleep with in my own bed. Natasha had a red blanket, Clint had a purple pillow, Steve had an American flag pillow, Bruce had a green blanket, Thor had a giant navy blue pillow, and Tony had a gold blanket with what felt like the highest thread count known to man. I replaced my bed covers with all of their stuff. It made me feel at least a little better. Not that I am getting better. I don't cry anymore, but living in the tower we used to share doesn't exactly help you move on.

"Miss Beth?" Jarvis asked. "Director Fury is in the kitchen wishing to speak with you."

I sigh. "Thanks, Jarvis. He couldn't even knock…" I say and trudge into the kitchen to find Fury sitting on a barstool drinking a cup of coffee. With Clint's mug.

"Hello Fury! Please, come in. Can I get you anything? Water, Coffee? Okay, Coffee it is! Here, use Clint's mug. I bet he won't mind. Oh wait, he can't. He's dead." I narrate quite sarcastically and sit down next to him. The man doesn't even blink, just pushes the mug away.

"Beth, I have some news I wish I didn't have to give." he starts.

"I think it's safe to say I've had my fair share of bad news." I say matter-of-factly.

"Due to multiple government regulations, you are not allowed to live here by yourself like you have been doing for the past month and a half." he says.

My mouth falls to the floor. "No. I can't leave." I protest, but it sounds more like resignation than I wanted it to.

"I have no choice." Fury replies, his voice tinged with guilt. "You are required to live with your next of kin." he explains.

My stomach turns. _I can't go back._ "I can't live with her. I can't." I being to say, choking up. "The Avengers were the first real family I ever had. Fury, please!" I beg, grabbing onto his trench coat, tears falling.

He doesn't flinch at my touch. "I'm truly sorry Beth. There's nothing I can do." He explains and steps off the stool, walking toward the door.

"Fury, don't go! Please! Don't make me live with her!" I plead following him.

He pauses for just a moment before whispering a haunted 'I'm sorry…" and slips out the door.


	4. Leaving Home

**Sorry for such a long time between my last update, school gets in the way of everything! WARNING: You will need to read Paintball, Art Upstairs, Merry Christmas Avengers!, and Living With the Avengers 2 to understand some things. They are all pretty dang short and I highly recommend it! :) Also, there is a major cliff hanger so don't hate me!**

I reached under the bed and pulled my trunk out from underneath. The last time I had touched it was the day I had arrived. Same with my duffel. I had lived here for almost a year, and it was definitely the best time of my life.

I began taking clothes out of my closet and methodically folding them and placing them inside my colossal trunk. I found the old t-shirt I had played paintball in. It was still covered in dried paint splotches. I packed it with everything else. After all my clothes were packed away, I moved on to the shelf. The photo album they gave me for Christmas made me burst into tears. I carefully packed it away, knowing looking at it would cause me to go completely insane.

Leaving my bags in my bedroom, I took the elevator to Steve's art studio. I walked slowly around the room, putting all of his artwork to memory. I noticed that he never did finish the painting of the Rockefeller center. I grabbed my drawing of Thor from the day I discovered the studio and left.

I moved on to the living room, collecting everyone's action figures from the shelf next to the TV. I took them back to my room and packed them with my clothes. I checked the time on my phone. Fury said I had to be out by 3:00, and it was 2:50. I shoved my trunk down the hallway and into the elevator, since there wasn't a super-soldier who would carry it down the stairs for me. I set my duffel on top of it and pressed the ground floor button. The ride down was agonizingly slow. After dragging all my stuff to the front door, I turned around and looked at my home. It was dreary and dark.

"Hey Jarvis?" I ask.

"Yes Miss Beth?" he automatically responded, as gloomy as the tower he inhabited.

"I guess this is goodbye..." I begin, my voice cracking.

"I suppose it is." he replies.

"I'm gonna miss you. Even though you're an artificial intelligence, I've grown to like you." I say, chuckling as tears slide down my face.

Jarvis chuckles as well. "I have grown fond of you as well. If I could cry, I would be." he says.

A horrible thought pops into my head. "What will happen to you now that no one is gonna live here anymore?" I tentatively ask.

He didn't respond for so long I thought he had randomly turned off or something. Finally he answers. "I'm assuming I will continue residing here, although I will not be able to serve my purpose with no one to assist. Perhaps I will be shut off, I am not sure."

My heart sinks. _Oh, God. _"I don't want that to happen to you..." I say through my tears.

"Neither do I." he agrees. "If it does, don't feel sad for me. You are a very special person, Beth. Attempt to begin the next chapter of your life."

"Okay, I'll try, for you." I promise.

"Good luck and goodbye, Miss Beth." he says.

"Goodbye Jarvis." I reply.

I open the front door to see a man in a robot suit, a man with a hammer, one with a shield, another with a bow, a woman in a leather cat suit, and a man wearing only a pair of torn up pants walking up the front lawn. _It can't be..._

"Beth!" one of them shouts.

My vision goes fuzzy and I fall to the ground, hitting my head on the walkway.


	5. Hospital Visit

**Here is the next chapter! Sorry it's so short...I hope you like it anyway! Please review because the few reviews I have received have been quite helpful. Please be like DollyDaydream8 (the one who gave me this story's idea) and send in your own ideas so I can continue writing! Thanks!**

"Oh! I think she's waking up!" I hear a man say as I come to. _What the heck happened?_ I slowly open my eyes.

My superfamily is gathered around me.

"Gah! How? You're-You're dead! All of you!" I yelp, the grogginess zapped out of me.

"Good to know you are glad we're alive..." Tony says in his usual sarcastic fashion. Steve elbows him in the ribs.

"You've been dead for over a month! How can this be?" I ask, baffled.

"We had been compromised, so we shut off communications in order to make it home safely. Off the radar, if you will." Natasha explained.

"I thought my closest family was gone forever. Now suddenly you are all alive. I cried the most and hardest I ever had these past weeks. I...I need some time to sort through this. Would you mind giving me some space for a while?" I ask, too many emotions to count swirling through my mind.

"Of course. Let us give our sister some time alone." Thor says and my now-alive family files out the door.

BREAK

I didn't know what to think. Of course I'm happy they're alive. But why couldn't they have come home sooner? Two of them can fly and Bruce can jump like nobody's business when he's hulked-out. Why didn't they send some sort of message? I almost didn't make it through this past month and a half.

I guess I've sorted long enough. I pressed the button on the side of my bed. A nurse walks through the door.

"What can I do for you?" she asks.

"Could you call the Avengers to my room?" I ask.

"Wow. What did you do to deserve such company?" she jokingly asks and hurries out the door.

My face turns into a small smile. "I'm not sure."

BREAK

Everyone situates themselves around my bed.

"Beth. We're so, so sorry. We cou-" Steve begins.

I raise my hand. "I have a few questions before you all start apologizing." I interrupt. "Why couldn't you have come home sooner? What happened? You were dead for over a month. I almost gave up. You are the only true family I've ever had…" I say.

"It's such a long story I'd rather tell it to you when you are released from the hospital…" Bruce says.

It just occurred to me that I was, in fact, sitting in a hospital bed. "Oh. Right. Why am I in here exactly?" I ask.

"When you saw us in the front yard you fainted and smashed your head against the corner of your trunk. You lost a lot of blood and there are eight stiches on your scalp as we speak." Clint indicates.

I rub my hand on the back of my head. I didn't notice that it is covered in bandages. My fingers brush the stiches. "Ouch!" I exclaim. "How long am I gonna have to stay here?" I ask to know one in particular.

"Three more days. The docs just want to be sure that you don't have any hidden brain damage." Tony explains. "Although I'm not sure why. All your craziness isn't exactly hidden." he snarkily adds, a grin on his face.

"Don't insult the patient." I warn. "I can get you kicked out." I jokingly threaten. I sigh. "This going to be a long three days…" I add.

"How can we make your stay more desirable?" Thor asks, always the one looking out for people.

I thought for a moment. "Wanna eat some bacon?" I ask, a glint in my eye.

"Anything for the invalid…" Clint jokes, and Tony gets on his cellphone.

"I need seven heaping plates of the crispiest bacon you've got-"is what I hear before Tony walks out the room to finish the call.

You could say I missed them.


	6. Aladdin and an Explanation

"Hey, when's Pepper coming?" I ask to anybody as we watch Aladdin in my hospital room. It was day two of my stay, and my family had brought over some movies. Nobody answered.

"Hello? Anyone?" I jokingly ask again.

"Oh, um…soon probably." Tony answered quite awkwardly, dodging the question with a flick of his hand. Suddenly it dawned on me.

"She doesn't know, does she?" I ask, louder. "That I'm here. That you're back. Oh my gosh. I don't believe it."

"We just wanted to make sure you were okay…"Clint offers.

I put my hands up to my face. "You guys. That's not an excuse. Get her here now." I order. Nobody moves. "NOW."

Tony rushes out the door, whipping out his cellphone.

He comes back after a few minutes.

"Happy is bringing her over. They'll be here in no time." He announces.

BREAK

The movie was at the part where Aladdin is cast onto the snowy mountain with Abu when Pepper bursts in, flinging the door so hard it smacks against the wall.

"ANTHONY EDWARD STARK! HOW DARE YOU!" she yells, her heels clacking loudly as she walks irately up to him. "You have been alive all this time and you never told me! I thought I had lost not only you but everyone else! And I guess you decided that it wasn't a big deal for Beth to be in the hospital with a severe head injury?! I can't believe you…" she trails off at the end, suddenly clinging to Tony and crying in his shoulder. We all avert our attention until she stops after a minute or two.

"I'm going to wash my face and then I better get an explanation." She states plainly and walks into the tiny bathroom.

BREAK

"You guys got some explaining to do…" I say when Pepper comes back. "Please give us the whole story and don't even think of sugar-coating it."

"Well. We were sent to a Russian terrorist base in Siberia." Bruce begins. "We were supposed to simply evacuate the hostages and shut the operation down."

"Unfortunately, when Tony was trying to wipe the hard drive, a virus was somehow passed to Jarvis in his suit. It was extremely advanced, immediately tapping into his personal files." Clint added.

"Personal information. Pictures of you and Pepper. Our address." Steve said. "If they got a hold of that kind of information, you guys would be hunted down."

"I shut down Jarvis and my suit, blocking the virus from copying anything. By that time, the others had already freed the hostages and eliminated the terrorist threat. We decided it would be safest to also destroy our communicators. Just to be sure that the virus hadn't somehow infected them as well." Tony said.

"That explains why you dropped off the map. But, why did it take you so long to come home?" I ask.

"We wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible. So we walked. Also, the quinjet was blown up." Natasha explained. "Until we could hitch a ride on a barge across the Atlantic. It was quite an adventure I suppose."

"Interesting. I guess we're just glad you're back safe and sound." Pepper said. I nodded.

"This just occurred to me. Why were you leaving the Tower?" Thor asked.

I sigh. "Ah. I was wondering when this would come up. Fury said that I was violating multiple government regulations by living there by myself. I had to move in with my next of kin. Which is my stepmom."

"I see. What is a stepmom?" Thor asked again.

"If your parents get a divorce and then your dad remarries, his new wife is called your stepmom." I explain. "To tell you the truth, I absolutely despised her. Remember how my dad wasn't ever around? I was stuck with her all the time because my real mom moved to Indiana. My stepmom hated me too. She was always comparing me to her son Connor, who was just a year younger than me. The only one I liked in that family was my real little sister, Josie. We had been together from the very beginning, back when my parents were still married. Both my stepmom and I were overjoyed when I came to live with you guys, so moving back would have been absolute torture." I finish.

"I guess it's safe to say none of us really had a spectacular childhood. Except I guess Pepper and Thor." Clint says.

"This is the truth. But it does not do well to dwell on the past. This I have learned through my time on Midguard. Let us continue witnessing the tale of the beggar boy and his-what is the word? Ah, yes. Genie." Thor suggests, and I can't help but laugh.


	7. Our Little Bunch

**Here is the final chapter to this particular creation. It was a challenge to write and I'm glad I could share it with you readers! Pretty please tell me what you think in the box below and comment on my other works as well. Much love to you all!**

I skip down the stairs to the lab and punch in the access code. "Welcome, Miss Beth." Jarvis automatically responds as the door slide open.

"Thanks, Jarvis." I say. I walk into the main lab area to find Bruce and Tony rearranging stuff on the holograph screens. It looked pretty cool.

"Dang it! Looks like I forgot to change the password again!" Tony mocks as I walk over flipping open my workbook. Bruce chuckles as he types something on one of the floating screens.

"Psshhh. You guys love my interruptions. Besides, I could probably weasel the new one out of Jarvis anyway…" I reply.

"Ha! Jarvis wouldn't dare. I created him." Tony says.

"Sir, my loyalties lie with all of the Avengers and Beth. I will give her any passwords she may need." Jarvis replies, a hint of smugness somehow coming out through the electronic voice.

"Ha-HA! Jokes on you!" I laugh. You guys wanna help me with this?" I ask.

Bruce puts on his glasses and looks at the page I hold out to him. "Geez. How did you do your homework when we were MIA?" he asks.

"I really don't know." I reply honestly. "I can't believe I passed…"

BREAK

I finish lacing up my sneakers and walk out of the gym's locker room to find Clint and Natasha sparring in the boxing ring. It was amazing how in sync they were. Neither of them actually hit the other because their opponent would anticipate and block their attack effortlessly. In a way, it was beautiful.

"Hey Clint!" I yell. "Can I practice with your bow?" I ask as I walk over to it hanging on the wall.

"Sure thing, Beth." he replies without losing his focus on the fight.

"Thanks!" I say as I strap the quiver around my back and step in front of one of the targets.

I miss. Horribly. So bad, the arrow hits the wall.

Natasha laughs. "Looks like you're a little out of practice." She jokes, continuing to spar without missing a beat. Those two were ridiculous.

"This is the first time I've held the thing since y'all left. Cut me some slack would ya?" I reply as I take another shot, hitting just outside the bulls eye. "Look, I'm already improving."

"I would prefer if you wouldn't refer to my bow as "the thing". It's a very expensive and amazing piece of weaponry." Clint says.

"Puh-lease." I reply. I release another arrow, which lands straight in the bulls eye. "Ta-da! I've got my mojo back!" I brag to my housemates.

BREAK

I step into the kitchen to find Thor and Steve sharing a box of cinnamon Poptarts sitting at the bar. I grab a pack and lean on the counter across from them.

"How was school?" Steve asked between bites.

"Pretty good. Made a 97 on my essay in English. Had tacos for lunch." I reply, breaking off a chunk of Poptart and popping it in my mouth.

"Well done Beth!" Thor congratulates in his enthusiastic manner. "Sir Jarvis! Please alert the rest of our family of this wondrous news!" he asks.

"Of course Master Odinson." Jarvis replied. A moment later, Tony's voice comes through the speakers. "Hey Thor, you don't have to alert us of every little thing. But, way to go, Beth!" he says. Bruce jumps in, "Yeah, good for you!"

A sweaty pair of assassins walk into the kitchen and grab water bottles from the fridge. "Good job!" Natasha comments, and Clint nods in agreement as he gulps down his water.

Things had finally gone back to normal. Or as normal as our little bunch could get. Had I mentioned how much I had missed them?


End file.
